Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Kurt Schubert

3 months ago

This is so helpful! Great idea 李jiayang!
I am working on Bb Walking bassline as well as some version of the same foundational exercises you are all doing too.
Triads on strings s 234 are a lot easier after July Challenge :-)
Kurt

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李jiayang

3 months ago

Oh is Here ! Ha ha ha ha.
Thank you Kurt ! Set 234 with triads , develop this :)

Appreciate everyone ‘s pure work here , A lot power . Thank you.

Tomo Fujita Mod

3 months ago

So happy to hear this Jiayang!

Do one thing at a time. Do it well.

List up things & possibities but you don't need to everything at one.

I love this thread! Thanks so much for sharing!

Tomo

Ralph H

3 months ago

Thanks for posting your plan Jiayang! Interesting to see what folks are up to.

This is my current routine, roughly in order of how I go about it. I start at the beginning and work through as many of these as I can get to over the course of a day. I generally spread this out over three sessions.

- Super slow chromatic, crazy chromatic, no metronome (10 min)
- R37 swing (5 min)
- Bending C major scale, horizontal and strings 123 (5 min)
- Bb Blues Etude, 80 bpm (5 min)
- 1 string, 1 finger: C major, C pentatonic, C triad (5 min)
- Triad inversions, C major (5 min)
- Blues shuffle, 80 bpm (5 min)
- Leavitt Method (15-30 min)
- Twinkle Twinkle Triads lesson (5 min)

- Daily: Record 2 min clip of some exercise (e.g., R37 or Bb Etude) and review

For exercises with the metronome I practice at 40 bpm with the beat on 2 and 4 for a few minutes, then at 80 bpm with the beat on each quarter note (sorry if that's the wrong terminology).

Near term goals: fine tune Bb Blues etude and Twinkle Twinkle and and work toward adding some fills to the latter; find a song to transcribe

Listening (and reading): I have a habit of listening to the same song over and over and over again so for the last little while that song's been Jimi Hendrix' Red House. I've lately been reading Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy by Harry Shapiro. Out of print I believe but widely available used.

Best wishes,

- Ralph

11 Likes

Sammi Fujita Mod

3 months ago

Thank you for sharing, Ralph! This routine is so organized. Is there a specific part of the Leavitt method book you are working on?
PS Tomo loves Red House

Ralph H

3 months ago

Thanks Sammi!

I'm working my way through Leavitt from the beginning. Sticking to it consistently has been really tough for me and I wind up stopping for a while and then starting over again. I've gotten as far as page 28 previously and hope to get a little farther this time.

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李jiayang

3 months ago

Hi Ralph ! Thank you sharing you plan too !
Ready to learn with you & have many inspiration here , The really great part you have the time limit . Thank you Ralph .
We all working on the Method book , building the foundation !
It's so great can know what folks plan , here have strong support .
You are listen the Jimi Hendrix 's Red House ! So great !

Tomo Fujita Mod

3 months ago

Thank you Ralph fore sharing your routine! Great details!

Great goals!

Blues is so good too!
I love Red House (In the West album)

Tomo

Serena Bobbi

3 months ago

Very nice list here Ralph. I love the time stamps you shared for length of practice. I learn from all of you. thank you

Christian Guerrero

3 months ago

I try at least 1 hour every day but this is my routine :
chromatic 1212 first very slow
R37 swing with and without metronome
triads : the circle of fifths, major and minor starting from 123 strings and finishing 456.
Bb blues etude with and without metronome.
Spread triads progressions.
and now Twinkle, Twinkle jazzy stile lesson ( I started yesterday)

Sometimes I change triads by arpeggios starting from the root, the third, the fifth on 6 or 5 or 4 string.
The time dedicated to every exercise depends on my mood. I should do more ear training and try to transcribe something however and to be honest I'm not doing it right now because it is the most frustrating to me although I could figure out the chords of JM "Last train Home" last month.

10 Likes

Sammi Fujita Mod

3 months ago

Thanks for sharing, Christian! Great foundation work. I appreciate your honesty. Why do you think you should do more ear training and transcribing? I ask because sometimes we put pressure on ourselves to do things because we believe we should, but in reality, it may not be necessary to push right now. Either way, I bet someone can help you pick some songs that are ~less frustrating~ to transcribe :)

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李jiayang

3 months ago

Hi ! Christian ! Thank you for sharing you routine ! Inspiration !
You are building the foundation , and learn the Bb blues & Twinkle Twinkle !
Here we can write the plan to do or want to do things , maybe one day we can's finish things like we imagine way , give us enough time to do and try , next day , we still can moving on .

Thank you Christian , we can interact here is so amazing ! We can sharing the progress anytime :)

Christian Guerrero

3 months ago

Well, the answer is that i don't have a repertoire. I would like to play something in front of people. Learning songs using tabs is not the answer ( you only get sick of your favourite songs). Following Tomo's advices rigorously is the only way I have improved my playing and my musical knowledge so far. Anyway sometimes I feel like stuck because I tell to my self: Ok, Christian you know a bunch of scales, arpeggios, modes... and now what can I do with all this tools? In a interview Tim Henson said that at the beginning of his musical career he wanted to run before walking and that was a mistake. Maybe it's the same to me. Don't expect too fast! When I see a video of the typical 5 years old Asian kid playing " Through the fire and flames" I feel baaaaad. I know, I know : " Don't compare! But the positive thing is that I know that I'm going somewhere, I'm not wasting my time anymore. The video that Tomo made for me about the Bb blues was game changing for me, priceless. ( I'm going to record a video update to show my progress) . The R37 exercise was an impossible mission and now I'm worried cause it sounds so good that maybe I'm missing the point. ( I owe another video). As a final though, I encourage to the forum members to follow Tomo's guidelines exactly ( and rigorously) as he says even if you thing it's easy or simple. It is worth the time and the effort.

Tomo Fujita Mod

3 months ago

Thank you Christian for sharing your practice routine!

Those choices are so great to build your srong foundation.

Learn tunes, learn solos... very good too!

Tomo

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李jiayang

3 months ago

Hi! Chris ! Thank you for all says , This is so honest and you express everyone all have this time .
I know what you say “ repertoire ” . But we all know that fast to learn any song ( Like Tab way ) will don't make us feel good .But we still want to play something , can totally bring interesting for world . Have you think this point ? Maybe this character is important , it give us look forward power ?This is show the pure heart that we want to be real improve .

Don't expect too fast is so important, But I think this need use with “ Be kind to yourself , Means when we want ” One Step to the end “ “ Run before walk ” time , give us more time. When my left wrist was injury , maybe 2 month , I can't touching my guitar , the time just run out ... But how I want to practice , the result is hurt myself more . That time I do a lot other thing in life , Eat more , some way have little travel, even watch more movie that I haven't try , give time with family , Maybe give my self some space to learn in the GW , But no guitar . Don't worry , Be kind to ourself !

I know the feel compare with people , absolutely will feel that ! But compare don't make us be better , like “ Thought , worry can't help us real life ”

Thank you for that Bb blues thread , so help with my practice , I appreciate you working , Chris .
Please send any progress or thinking with you folks , the progress with you is so amazing , Thank you inspire us so more , and encourage us so more .

Clay

3 months ago

Thanks Jiayang - there were so many things I wanted to work on after the challenge. Here is what I'm doing for now:

Warmup
-1212 on 4th and 3rd strings
-R37 swing groove on 54, 58, 65 bpm, then 40bpm on the 2 and 4
Practice
-C/D/G triads - not always the same way, just touch on something so knowledge doesn't evaporate
-"All of Me" song - this is at least 75% of my practice

That's it. Lots of things I'm not doing, but I probably won't add anything until I'm more comfortable with "All of Me." Top thing to add is probably ear training.

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李jiayang

3 months ago

Hi Clay ! Thank you sharing the things you doing now !
Building foundation and work the song " All of Me " , have specific speed with R 37 swing Groove !
So good clay , don't worry , you can do it .

Clay is one step one step in the way !

Tomo Fujita Mod

3 months ago

Thank you Clay for sharing your practice ideas.

Great choices on foundation. All of me is so good!

Do more triads!

Tomo

Serena Bobbi

3 months ago

Clay, you are doing well. :)

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李jiayang

3 months ago

Kurt ! Thank you sharing you recently plan !
Bb Walking Bass line , moving on you way Kurt !
Seems the GW team is keep going with them foundation .

Develop the triads part , the new live stream have many inspiration , This will be a great day !
Ps: someway I just receive the message from mail box , where the comment here🤔

Kurtis Message :

Kurt Schubert

3 months ago

Thanks 李jiayang!
I think I was going to edit that post but deleted it.
I really appreciate hearing about everyone's practice goals.
Kurt

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李jiayang

3 months ago

Oh , I thought that was system error ! Sorry Kurt , If you want to edit it .
But is okey , please send each your idea for this thread :)

Very appreciate receive the inspiration from Kurt !

We are keep going together !

Tadashi Morita

3 months ago

Jiayang, this is a great thread! I was feeling a bit drained after the July Challenge.
Thank you for motivating me to set goals and work towards them.

-Improve the accuracy of R37
-Review the ET series lessons (for the third time) to deepen my understanding
-Proceed through Book 1

These are the things I particularly want to work on right now.
Thank you for the inspiration, Jiayang!

Ralph H

3 months ago

"-Review the ET series lessons (for the third time) to deepen my understanding"

Thanks for sharing! Took me a while to figure out that one must watch these lessons many times to absorb everything and to go back and review them from time to time.

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李jiayang

3 months ago

Thank you Tadashi sharing all ! Oh you are not only to feel this , I feel some drained , too .
But can sharing the idea and keep going with everyone is so inspire !

Review the ET series lesson ! Thank you Tadashi to remind our “ Review ” !

Yes , not easy to learn how to review , sometimes I really think I already know , in the fact , I still need take step then I will know “ Oh ! There something still in there wait me to review and get !

Book 1 , The excellent work here , You on you way Tadashi , we are ready to moving on with you !

Tomo Fujita Mod

3 months ago

Thank you Tadashi for sharing yours!

Yes! What a great thread and very inspiring!

R 3 7 & Book one... so great!

The ET series.. too!

Tomo

Serena Bobbi

3 months ago

Yes Tadashi, way to stay motivated. It would be cool to have study partners for the weeks ahead. This way we have an accountability partner.

Tomo Fujita Mod

3 months ago

Thank you Ralph for sharing your experience through reviewing the ET seroes lessons. For the third time! Excellent!

Tomo

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李jiayang

3 months ago

Today when I practice Chromatic 1212 & R 37 swing groove find something really important :

1: Lose you shoulder , make shoulder be relax , especially “ Picking side shoulder ” can decide the whole body balance & the tone you are .
2 :Be care the whole body posture , Pay attention to whether the body is curled up . If curled , still can effect the note .
( Hold acoustic guitar easy to be curled )

Tomo Fujita Mod

3 months ago

Good job Jiayang!

Keep going!

Tomo

2 Likes

Matt

3 months ago

I had a week+ of travel for work, so I've been away from my guitar for a minute. But I'm back at it!

My typical routine is 3 or 4 blocks of 5 minutes working on the fundamentals. 1212 chromatic, 1 string scale, triads (more on this in a moment), R37 strumming, an etude {so I get to play along with Tomo. :-) }

Then for the rest of the day whenever I pickup my guitar I can just play along with songs, or improvise melodies over a loop.

Now back to the triads. Even though I work on triads regularly, and did even before the July challenge, I don't feel like I had them all (major/minor/augmented/diminished) under my fingers as well as I'd like. My plan moving forward is to take the July challenge approach and move through the rest of the triads like this, starting next week.

Week 1 - Major Triads strings 234
Week 2 - Major Triads strings 345
Week 3 - Minor Triads strings 123
Week 4 - Minor Triads strings 234
etc.

Even though I knew the Major triads on 123, I found by doing the challenge, that I learned them deeper if that makes sense. I was able to sing the different inversions, I was aware of Do Mi So/Mi So Do/So Do Mi. I learned different ways to slide from one inversion to another (a al Steve Cropper's Soul Man intro). And the not looking at the fretboard thing really showed me just how much I relied on looking at the fretboard, so that's a work in progress too. I just knew them BETTER after the challenge.

I'm also trying to strike a better balance between working on guitar and playing guitar. I mean the whole point of this is the music right?

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李jiayang

3 months ago

Hi Matt ! Wish you have a great & sweet time with the travel and the work , travel is so good!
Matt is back ! Thank you for sharing the typical routine !inspiration here !
You are dig into the Triads , I will follow you , " explore the the whole point of this is the music " , wow , how amazing idea !

When July challenge done , after that I have to reminds me all the time , No looking fretboard , No looking ! Sometime will
have little bit "stare" time , Thank you Matt , no relied on looking fretboard , we will build this all the time .
Thank you Matt , for this beautiful idea , the detail thing will give help with my practice .
We are keep going ! Yeah !

Serena Bobbi

3 months ago

Incredible work Matt. Keep it up.

Tomo Fujita Mod

3 months ago

Thank you Matt for sharing your practicing ideas.

Good job on foundation.
More rhythm guitar & more triads are so good!

I would stay with triads longer!
You can stay much longer on any sets.

To be free on performance then more foundation will help.

Tomo

Matt

3 months ago

YES! Nothing is written in stone, I'm not expecting too fast! My thought was that in learning the rest of the string sets, with major triads anyway, that the work was going to be adapting the knowledge gained on 123 from the July challenge to the rest of the string sets. But we'll see how it goes. GW is the first time in my life that I've not been in a hurry on guitar to get to the next topic/lesson.

Tomo Fujita Mod

3 months ago

Thank you Matt! Good job! No hurry! Not everything! One thing at a time!

The July Challenge was so good!

Please enjoy your guitar journey!

Tomo

1 Like

Sergio Walgood

3 months ago

Hello GW friends,
Thank you for this post Jiayang! Great to se your routine!

Since the festival season started, my practice has slowed down. I’ve been playing guitar almost daily and doing some exercises, but I need to get back to full focus.

Yesterday I returned to the sight reading exercises. I’m a bit slower, but the info has stuck, which felt great!

Life has been a bit chaotic with events, but it’s stabilizing, and I hope to return to a regular practice routine soon. Just sharing an honest update.

We keep going! ☀️
Sérgio

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李jiayang

3 months ago

Hi hi ! Sergio ! So happy to hear the post , Don't worry , please send you progress & practice idea with folks anytime !
Well done the busy work , amazing as working personnel in the Music festival , that beautiful work is bring happiness to people !

So glad to hear you are return you routine , you will do it Sergio !

Take some breath , we all here & proud of you .

Thank you Sergio , We are keep going ! !💪

Serena Bobbi

3 months ago

Sergio, yes make and find time daily even if just 5 minutes. Life can be chaotic. You are doing well.

Tomo Fujita Mod

3 months ago

Thank you Sergio for sharing your case!

Tomo

Andrew Jenner

3 months ago

As Kurt said Great idea Jiayang, thank you.

Its made me think about what I should be doing. I have been able to listen, hear and understand what to do, but stubbornly not do what Tomo says! I have tried a note book but it seems I need to have the same things written every time I practice so I've made up a spreadsheet with the headings as below, and each day has a place to comment, very nerdy. And I also use a timer to limit myself. Well this has only been in operation for a few days but it looks like it will work for me.

Really interesting reading everyone's practice ideas
Happy days & enjoy
Andrew

Chromatic 10-15 mins
Prepare before playing = hand position , thumb position, pick, RH & LH muting, posture, relax, move.
Play SLOW & SOFT, A&D strings.
Think about rolling hand to let pressure off non playing fingers

One String One Finger 5 mins
C Maj, Solfege sing ...up/down, triplets up/down, thirds and fourths up and down +triad
If getting it wrong SLOW DOWN

Triad Inversions 5 to 10 mins
Focus on palm muting, lighter left hand & thumb, thumb position, SLOW DOWN
No looking, visualise the note you are aiming for, play slow Pick fast.
G C D; Horizontally, Vertically, Root, 1st & 2nd inversions all positions
Hotel California

R 3 7 Swing 5 to 10 min
Prepare before playing, SLOW & Quiet, Relax,
Bb, little Finger needs enough pressure
Eb, roll hand round so G sounds, thumb needs to be below/away from 5th fret.
F, roll hand round so A sounds, thumb needs to be below/away from 7th fret

Bass Shuffle 5 to 10 min
Prepare before playing, Slow down so middle fingers relaxed so they can mute, Hand position, RH muting, Move with the groove, Slow & Quiet
Record and compare against Tomo's recording

Eb etude 5 to 10 min
Prepare before playing, LH fingers muting adjacent top strings & RH lower strings, move woth the groove.

Ear training 5 to 10 min
C Maj, C F G. Think of an interval and sing & check it.

Sight Reading 5 to 15 min
Slow down
RH hand position on guitar so that you can mute, top notes need muting when low notes played

Rhythm 5 to 10 min
4 beats on each quarter note in a round both ways
concentrate on the Beat

Learn songs by ear
No video or tab!

Record yourself
Once a week record practice, RED fill denotes recording made, pink as a reminder

Kurt Schubert

3 months ago

This is so helpful Andrew!
So many really important details in your notes.
Thanks for taking the time to share with us!
Kurt

Tomo Fujita Mod

3 months ago

Thank you Andrew for sharing your detail ideas!

Very helpful to others! Same things are so good!

Tomo

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李jiayang

3 months ago

Hi Andrew ! So amazing detail and all plan , spreadsheet is so great !
Each part is so attentive and make I will add this detail to my notes !
This is so grateful that we can learning & keep going together .
Ha ! Let's learning and moving with Rhythm part!
Let's keep with our routine ! :)
Thank you sharing Andrew . Happy & Joy

Serena Bobbi

3 months ago

Andrew so many great details. Thanks for sharing your journey.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Qjd2FyTMCmM

Ralph H

3 months ago

An update from Ralph. Thank again Jiayang for staring this lovely thread.

Ralph H

3 months ago

First time doing this. I think I've made every mistake possible along the way. Maybe I'll do it again. (NARRATOR: he never did it again.)

Kidding!

Be well,

- R

Kurt Schubert

3 months ago

Thanks for the update, Ralph.
Looking forward to seeing your PRS soon!
So happy that I have made new friends like you here at GW!
Kurt

Ralph H

3 months ago

Thanks Kurt! It's a PRS SE incidentally. It's amazing!

How do I just embed the video like all the pros here do? So that I appears right in the post. I'm stumped. (It's fine as it is too.)

Best,

- R

Kurt Schubert

3 months ago

Hi Ralph!
I love my old orange Santana PRS SE. Before PRS started "signing" the head stock.

To get your videos to show up in the post as a video and not a link, you have to know the secret trick-
Hold the phone sideways when you film something (Landscape mode :-)

Looking forward to seeing your PRS!
Kurt

There are only two things to remember.
Number one...Don't Stop, and number two...Keep Going!
-Frank Zappa

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李jiayang

3 months ago

Ralph ! So happy to hear from you ! Thank you for the up date
WOW ! The new guitar , Is PRS ! So cool , and amazing .
https://youtube.com/shorts/vOq8ruN0dyw?feature=share
Maybe I should choice the new exercise , Maybe swim will be good ? Someway can make body and life be
soft ? Used to be I really afraid the swim & water .

PS : The Mr. Music Master Bass Amp will be landed my room in few days , which is really happy news :)

Wish you are health and happiness !

Ralph H

2 months ago

I put pics of the Silver Sky on my Facebook page. Should be easily found by search for Ralph Hockens. (Now occasionally also Rafe. Long story!)

Love,

- Ralph (or Rafe if you prefer)

P.S.: I'd post them here but I don't know how.

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李jiayang

2 months ago

Hi Rafe ! Sliver Sky WOW !
You can try use the YouTube ,
“ + Create ” ( Upper right corner )
And click the “ Create post ” , Then post the image :)

2 Likes

Ralph H

2 months ago

I've been on a new journey for the last little while but I'm about to resume this one. I'll start back at the basics and go from there. I think it's fine to restart this way. I think I will go back and begin as though it my first time through Guitar Wisdom.

I will still supplement with a visit now and then with a local guitar instructor so I can correct any bad habits or just get a second opinion and will continue to work on a few things that are not GW that I like. I follow my curiosity and interest where it goes but GW is now for me always the foundation on which I build everything else and GW exercises and practice and such is always my first focus.

Best wishes,

- RH

Tomo Fujita Mod

2 months ago

Thank you Ralph for sharing your recent guitar journey!

More and more, I go back to simple foundation. Good job!

So happy to hear that! Glad to be helpful.

Tomo